Page 25 of Princess of Thorns and Ruin

With his chin angled to the side, he offers me his wrist again, and my stomach clenches. I need to drink because otherwise I might get too hungry and kill the next human that visits me. I thought we were finally bonding and having a real conversation, but the elusive warmth in his demeanor burned out faster than a falling star.

I hold my breath as I study his seafoam-green irises, and concentrate on the comforting rhythm of his heartbeats, wishing—hoping—to catch a glimpse of what goes on beneath the surface. I listen hard for it, in case the phenomena from before repeats itself, but Leo’s mind is as silent and impregnable as his eyes.

I keep the feeding to a bare minimum, taking as little as possible, but the winces he fails to hold in wreck my soul. The bite isn’t supposed to hurt that much, but I’m still so inexperienced… I promise myself to learn how to do better—and quickly—otherwise Leo and I will never get past the pain he has to endure when I feed.

Dark circles are visible under his eyes, more pronounced than they were yesterday.

I apply pressure to the bite marks to keep him from bleeding. “Have you slept at all, Leo?”

His other hand twitches at his side. “Why? I mean—yes.”

“Are you sure? It’s hard for the human body to get used to living at night. Are you taking your medicine?”

“Yes,” he repeats stoically.

“Is there anything I can do to help? We can alter the feeding schedule until—”

He twists his arm away from my grasp. “There’s no reason to alter the schedule.”

The darkness in his eyes tells me this isn’t just about his pain threshold.

“I know it’s a big change. We’ll hire our own staff, and you can make some friends.” He vowed to serve me, but it’s clear by now he’d rather do anything else.

“Can I go, princess?”

I click my tongue, all my attempts to ease his own transition falling on deaf ears. “Fetch me the Secrets of the Nyx, it’s a leather-bound volume at the bottom of my large blue suitcase.”

With a curt nod, he obeys.

He’s clearly struggling, but he’s being a total guy about it. No one forced him to come to the choosing ceremony. Why would he agree to pledge his life to me if he didn’t want to? Plenty of islanders would have killed for the chance.

Why wouldn’t he just tell me not to pick him?

Maybe he’s just adjusting. Maybe he resents me for almost draining him dry. I’ll ask the handmaiden to take him to the doctor if needed.

The first rays of dawn blare through the windows at my back, and my skin singes. Sunrise stings like a scorpion, with a quick, unapologetic dart, and a low, guttural hiss escapes me. I lurch to the electric blind control panel and jab the correct button until they slide down with a soft zip.

Ragged breaths quake my chest.

They warned me about the sun, but it hurts more than I expected. It burns deep and true, the scent of cinder thick in my nose, the flesh of my neck pulsing as it heals.

How Lucas managed to hang with me by the sea every morning baffles me.

“Princess?” Leo calls from the servant utility door. “Are you okay?”

I hold in tears and wave to the dresser. “Leave the book and go.”

“As you wish.”

I stare at the wall until he leaves, but inside, I’m shaking. Red-stained tears flow down my cheeks. What good does it do me to be a vampire princess if I have to remain locked inside my room?

Leo hates me, and my family’s enemies want me dead. My own body feels foreign, my senses wild and unfamiliar. They said I would feel better, stronger, but they failed to mention the caveats. Am I really still Ari with all this pent-up…violence inside me? Am I doomed to be one of these ill-fated vampires who can’t ever walk in sunlight again?

All these new sensations and hormones are driving me crazy, worse than puberty—and that’s saying something.

My gaze latches on to the book I requested, and I snatch it off the dresser, eager to recheck a few passages on the powers afforded to only some of Nyx’s children. If memory serves right, mind-reading should be right at the end of the chapter on telepathy.

Chapter 10

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